Designers of office materials in Australia are taking notice that what is currently being produced today for the realities of today's workplace is not at all adapted to the rapidly increasingly problem of obesity.
The Australian Safety and Compensation Council recently released a report on their findings. First and foremost, people need to start coming to grips with the fact that obesity is becoming a problem that is having far-reaching effects on how people live, how they work, and on a corollary, how we function in the workplace.
For designers, the shift has occurred significantly and quickly enough that the data being used to make their models and to complete their designs are no longer compatible with the larger bodies of today's workplace, rending them less than effective.
Even though it's a great idea to promote the idea of wellness and to stress the importance of eating right and getting proper exercise (both at home and while at work), we need to be realistic. The shift to obesity isn't likely to go away soon. So it's important that we don't make a bad problem worse by not accommodating the realities of our workplace today, lest we decide that more back aches and other workplace injuries are not that big of a deal.